Odometer-operating means



H. P. C. BROWNE.

ODOMETER OPERATING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31,1916.

1,361,008. Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1' H. P. C. BROWNE.

ODOMETER OPERAUNG MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY SI, 1915.

, 1,361,O08 Patented Dec. 7,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f/f Z ,6IZ/ 20 43 I 39 a 46/7 4041 2;

H. P. C-. BROWNE.

ODOMETEH OPERATING MEANS.

APPLICATION mu) JULY 3.,1916.

- Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- ENTOH WITNESSES.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY P. C. BROWNE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ODOMETER-OPERATING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

Application filed July 31, 1916. Serial No. 112,293.

To all 10 710m it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY P. C. BROWNE, acitizen of the United States residin at New York, in the county andState of ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOdometer-Operating Means; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableother skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for operating anyrotation indicating or registering instrument, by imparting a i'neasureof the relative rotation between a shaft or an axle and a wheeljournaled thereon, to an instrument of said class carried by the wheel.

()ne of the important objects of my invention is the provision of meansfor installing any of said or analogous instruments upon a vehiclewheel, in a position sheltered from chance collision and in whichposition the instrument is readily accessible from the outer side of thewheel for reading or other attention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanical train foroperating instruments, as above described and mounted, from thewheel-axle; the inter-connection of all the parts of which shall beunafiected by any accidental dislocations occurring between the wheeland its axle.

My present invention is analogous to and is intended to serve the samegeneral purposes as the apparatus shown in my a plication Serial Number75,558, filed Fe ruary 1st, 1916; and is distinctively though notexclusively adapted for use with wheels having plain as distinguishedfrom roller bearings.

To the accomplishment of these objects and such others as mayhereinafter appear, my invention comprises the novel construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described and pointed out in theappended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings in which the same reference characters designate likeparts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of thedevice in place upon an automobile front wheel-hub. Fig. 2 is in part aside elevation of the wheel-hub and steering knuckle on which same ismounted, portions of parts to the right being broken fork of anautomobile axle steering-head,

E being the pivot and F the axle-stub thereof. G is a bushing or linercommonly used to reduce the friction between the wheel and axle, and His a hub-cap usually placed over the outer end of a hub. Formedintegrally with the flange 5 is a collar 7, recessed and faced as at 8,to locate the inboard thrust of the wheel against a shoulder 9 of theaxle-stub. Upon the external periphery of collar 7, is rotatably mountedthe gear 10; preferably a race or journal 11, concentric with the wheel,being machined thereon to receive the gear. The gear 10 is of the spurtooth type and is provided with a concentric cylindrical opening 12,adapted to journal upon the race 11; the gear being thus centered aboutthe axis of the wheel. Laterally projecting arms 13, of which four areshown loosely embrace the pivot E in pairs at top and bottom and serveto restrain the gear 10 against angular movement, but permit it tofollow otherwise the movements of the wheel. A helical spring 14:,having a tendency to'expand in the direction of the axle axis, serves tohold the gear 10 sidewise in position against a thrust shoulder 15 atthe inner end of race 11. It is to be noted that gear 10 is thusconstrained to a definite location with respect to the wheelhub, andwill therefore, regardless of whatever lost motion may exist between thewheel and its axle, remain in mesh with a second gear 16 supportedexclusively by the wheel-hub. The gear 16 transmits motion derived by itfrom the gear 10 through the rotary movement of the wheel, to a countingmechanism in the housing on the outer face of the wheel, by the shaft 17to which it is secured by means of the screw threads 18 of the shaftandthe pin 19. Shaft 17 is journaled in an elongated bushing 20 whichtraverses the hub through holes in the flanges as at 4:8 and 49.. At itsgear or 1nboard end the bushing 20 has a head 51 in which is an annularrecess 21, filled with a plastic material 22 preferably undercompression which acts to prevent the passage of axle oil or like matterinto the bushing, and thence to the counting instrument where itspresence would be harmful. On the front of flange alis a housingprovided with attaching lugs ill and through which special flange bolts26 and 2?, of slightly greater length tl an standard, pa and secure thehousing in place. The housing 23 is sealed by acover plate 558, part ofwhich is broken away in Fig. 1, and which is held by screws as at 29 inthe tapped holes 30. Within the housing and mounted upon a pedestal 31by screws 32 and 33, is a counter 81 a well known self contained typeinclusive of a shaft 35 by which it is operated. A gear 36 fitting shaftand secured thereto by pin :37 passing through hub 38, meshes with awornrthread 39 on the shaft 17. The shaft 1? is located in position bynuts l0 and l1 engaging the s *rew threads of the spindle. 23 is acircular boss formed on the back of housing 23, fitting loosely in ahole in the flange 4, as at 49, and having screw threads as at 14, whichthreads receive the correspondingly threaded end of bushing 20. On thebushing head 51 is a lug as through which a screw 50 is tapped into theflange wall, thus holding the bushing against any tendency to turn ordisengage from the housing. A window %6, closed by a transparentsubstance as the glass 4:7, shown partly laoken away in Fig. 1, isprovided in the cov r 28 opposite the counter and displays the figuresthereof to view.

It will be seen from the construction described that if the wheel beturned upon the axle, as by the movement of the vehicle, the engagementby the gear 10. which is held stationary by arms 13, of the pinion 16causes the latter to turn, thereby rotating the shaft 17 andcommunicating, to the counter 3st the desired measure or otherindication of the revolution of the wheel.

It is to be noted as one of the principal points of my invention thatall the mem bers of the driving train from wheel to counter, have theirentire support upon a single individual member of the vehicle and formtherefore a self-contained arrangement, dependent in no way foroperative integrity upon the relation between parts of the machine towhich the device is applied. In this respect it differs materially fromdevices of similar purpose and likewise employing in the form of acouple, a driving gear and a pinion driven thereby, located, when usedupon an automobile, adjacent to the steering knuckle. In this lattertype the I driving gear is supported by the vehicle wheel, ordinarily bylugs not adapted to center it on-the wheel axis; the driven pinion isindependently supported by a system of bracketing attached to thesteering knuckle; and the recording instrument is usually remote fromits driving pinion being operated bya flexible shafting. Thisarrangement presents dillicultics, arising from broken shafting,disconnection due to lost motion between wheel and axle, and theweakening of the bracketing, all of which are eliminated in theconstruction shown in the present invention.

I am aware that it is not new to mount a recording or similar instrumentupon a wheel-hub, an example of such practice being the hub-odometer,for which, also, the advantages almve pointed out as appurtcnant to mypresent invention might be claimed. but instrumei'its of the class namedare unduly exposed to accidents, and are confined by reason of theirexposure to very small dimensions unsuited to any but simple mileagerecorders. in contrast with these limitation my present inventionprosen-ts ample space and protection and high speed direct driveessential to the more comprehensive registering or recordinginstruments.

Various changes may be made in my iniprovedarrangement without departingfrom the scope of my invention, and I. do not limit myself to thedetails herein shown and described.

l'laviugthus described my invention, what i claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is;

In a device of the class described, an axle, a steering head fork, anelongated bearing carried by said fork, a stub shaft fixed to the fork,a hub journaled on said shaft, said hub including annular flanges spacedapart. and the inner end of the hub being formed into a race, off-set toform an annular shoulder, a registering mechanism supported by one ofsaid flanges, an actuating device carried by the other .ilange andopciatively connected with and driving said mechanism. a spur gearloosely mounted with respect to the hub on said race, a yieldable seatinterposed between said gear and said elongated bearing, and holding thegear yieldingly against said shoulder. retaining arms carried by saidgear and embracing said elongated bearing to prevent the rotation ofsaid gear, said gear being OPQL'EltlYOlLV con nected with and drivingsaid actuating device as the rub rotates.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature. in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY P. C. BROWNE.

Vitnesses B. Cororx, CHAs. O. GUYNES.

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